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The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

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Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#41

Post by dnomad »

grecy wrote: post #28

When it came to Australia it essentially forced the closure of the Ford and Holden (GM) vehicle design and factories. You can buy a brand new Chinese car with a 3 year warranty for less than the depreciation on a new Ford/GM/Toyota would be in 2 years. So after 3 years you can literally drive the Chinese vehicle to the dump and buy another one, and you're still up financially. Reviews so far say they're cheap, you ge…

I've noticed Australians and many others will go out of their way to not buy Chinese-made. It's a bit crazy. People, especially some Chinese themselves in certain cities, will go out of their way to spend a bunch of many on expensive Japanese and American cars when you can get a an equivalent Chinese vehicle for literally a third of the price. You've got to hand it to the car companies, they've done a very, very good job convincing people that their car is a status symbol just as important as their house.

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#42

Post by gkanai »

stretchwithme wrote: post #30

I'll stick with Japanese cars. I've been driving Toyotas for 35 years. And they're an ally. My hope is that China will moderate and become less authoritarian and less of a threat to its neighbors. Most countries have over time. And I hope the US will be less involved in foreign military adventures. There's no doubt in my mind that much of what dictators do is driven by what we do. I also believe that trade helps prev…

> My hope is that China will moderate and become less authoritarian and less of a threat to its neighbors.

That Xi just took power until his death means that this is not happening in China.

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#43

Post by ummonk »

2RTZZSro wrote: post #32
doesnt_know wrote: post #19

I didn't know this was controversial in any way, they've been in the Oceania market for some time. My wife and I own a Chery J3, purchased it new. It came with a 3 year mechanical warranty plus other benefits for like half the price of a Japanese car. I mean, it's pretty obviously catering for the "budget" market, it is literally the cheapest new car you can buy in the country. But it has suited our needs and we're a…

The Chery J3 costs just as much as the Japanese car if not more. The catch is when you crash you pay with your life. The J3 has very poor body integrity in an accident. It should be pulled from all markets immediately. If you value life you should immediately get rid of this car. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naUWH8Scc80

Huh. The low rating confuses me from watching that video. To my not that experienced eye, the main issue seems to be the airbag not expanding sufficiently. The car seems to have done a good job of crumpling to absorb the impact without deforming too much inside the cabin itself.

Edit: okay the main issue is described here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5RWnocukG8 The steering wheel gets pushed into the driver's chest.

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#44

Post by elvirs »

beebmam wrote: post #6

If global markets aren't transforming China out of totalitarianism, then morally, shouldn't we stop assisting the economic development of China? I'm horrified by some of the stories I've been told by my Chinese co-workers. Threats of violence to family members (for speaking freely) by the Chinese government is extremely common.

America has killed quite a few million people during its delivering democracy to the desert adventures in just last one decade. Pretty sure its more than what Chinese have done by a magnitude of 10x. Have you considered consuming less American made products?

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#45

Post by levosmetalo »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #25
floatrock wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The dealer network system in the United States. So I get that franchising laws require dealers to be independent from manufacturers and they're up there with occupational licensing, but how exactly does that prevent a new manufacturer from entering the market? I assume if you can raise a few billion to build a plant, kickstarting a bunch of new "independent" dealerships is just another line item you plan for...

Tesla just bypassed the dealer system altogether.

And Tesla sold how many cars exactly? The discussion here is about manufacturers trying to actually sell existing cars, not marketing department doing the PoC on sales.

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#46

Post by ch4ck »

pzone wrote: post #10
rlglwx wrote: post #3

Whenever you read an article like this ask yourself why it hasn’t happened yet. Geely, Great Wall and numerous other Chinese domestic brands have been operating for decades. Why haven’t they cracked the USA market? The dealer network system in the United States.

Then why don't you see them in Europe either?

But I see many new Volvo cars here...

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#47

Post by hvidgaard »

dnomad wrote: post #41
grecy wrote: post #28

When it came to Australia it essentially forced the closure of the Ford and Holden (GM) vehicle design and factories. You can buy a brand new Chinese car with a 3 year warranty for less than the depreciation on a new Ford/GM/Toyota would be in 2 years. So after 3 years you can literally drive the Chinese vehicle to the dump and buy another one, and you're still up financially. Reviews so far say they're cheap, you ge…

I've noticed Australians and many others will go out of their way to not buy Chinese-made. It's a bit crazy. People, especially some Chinese themselves in certain cities, will go out of their way to spend a bunch of many on expensive Japanese and American cars when you can get a an equivalent Chinese vehicle for literally a third of the price. You've got to hand it to the car companies, they've done a very, very good…

If it's 1/3 of the price, I'm 100% sure it's not even remotely as safe. I don't buy many cars, but spend enough time in them that safety matters to me. That some Chinese avoid them when they can is very telling about the cars.

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#48

Post by elvirs »

FreakyT wrote: post #2

Interestingly, in Chile (and possibly other South American countries, perhaps someone else can weigh in) you can already buy Chinese car brands at dealers. I was told that BYD vehicles are the cheapest option but also have terrible reliability.

Russia and I think all post Soviet countries. Turkey and most of the middle East countries are full of chinese cars. I think developed countries will lose the markets where they used to sell their older off lease cars to. Eastern European countries are literally Germany & France's junk yard. Looks like thats about to change

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#49

Post by woolvalley »

elvirs wrote: post #44
beebmam wrote: post #6

If global markets aren't transforming China out of totalitarianism, then morally, shouldn't we stop assisting the economic development of China? I'm horrified by some of the stories I've been told by my Chinese co-workers. Threats of violence to family members (for speaking freely) by the Chinese government is extremely common.

America has killed quite a few million people during its delivering democracy to the desert adventures in just last one decade. Pretty sure its more than what Chinese have done by a magnitude of 10x. Have you considered consuming less American made products?

The great leap forward would like to talk to you.

Re: The Chinese Car Invasion Is Coming

#50

Post by Theodores »

In big Chinese cities it costs you the equivalent of many thousands of dollars to get a licence plate. Without that city plate you cannot drive in the city during rush hour, you have to have a city plate.

Typically electric cars and plug in hybrids are exempt from the scheme. This means that if you live in Shenzen and want to get around then you can see if you win the lottery of licence plates and are allowed to pay $10K to join the club, or you just get an electric car.

The electric cars are better than the old fashioned cars with better ride quality due to the battery weight, better turning circles due to no huge motor between the front wheels, spritely acceleration off the line (if not at highway speeds), plus silence when waiting at the lights. This is a civilised experience and people don't go back to noisy motors with 'stick shift' involvement in driving. Much like how people did not go back to the horse when the car came along. A cheap basic car is better than a horse with fluffy cushions.

China are leading the way on this electric car revolution, they are doing great with their domestic market and when the rest of the world goes electric the Chinese brands will have quite an advantage.

In Europe a lot of fanfare was made about Jaguar and their electric SUV, which is not out yet. It will be contract manufactured by Magna in Graz Austria, not made in Jaguar's own factory in Birmingham.

The Nissan Leaf (new version) is a car well suited to Western markets and built by Nissan/Renault rather than outsourced. A very nice product, as is the BMW i3, but it seems that the Chinese really have a better product for the market - affordable!

Tesla have shown that car interiors do not have to be 'luxury leather' with a massive console thing, dashboard resembling a radiogram from the 1950's, silly carpets everywhere topped out with chintzy bling trim.

The budget Chinese cars have none of the 'luxury trim' with hard plastics everywhere. However the experience is actually civilised, no noise, no rattles, lots of interior space. So owners are quite willing to forget the fluffier aspects of old fashioned cars.

There is no range anxiety either, if you are going to drive all day to get somewhere you just get a plane instead and get your day back.

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